Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to hear post-game comments from Colin Hudson. Also listen to Joc Overstreet's player spotlight interview.

IRONWOOD---The Bay College Norse men's basketball team closed its non-conference season Wednesday night with a 84-59 win over the Gogebic Community College Samsons in Ironwood.

It was Bay's third win of the season over the U.P. Rival Samsons, and all of them were by 25 points or more. The win allowed the Norse to finish the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 10-4 record.

“I thought our defense played really well tonight,” Norse Coach Matt Johnson said. “Only allowing 25 points in a half in a college basketball game is pretty good. I think we have the potential to be really special on defense, and be one of the best defensive teams in the country."

"We have the guys to do it. We didn't shoot the ball particularly well tonight, but we had some guys do some good things on that end as well.”

The Norse trailed, 19-13, midway through the first half, after Braxton Sbraggia made a nice move inside and scored in the paint. But the Norse dominated the late moments of the first half, outscoring the Samsons, 22-6, to take a 35-25 lead at halftime.

Justin Nelson of West Iron County knocked down a basket to give the Norse a 28-25 lead, then Joc Overstreet drained a long triple seconds later. The Norse lead ballooned to 50-33 in the early moments of the second half as Escanaba's Colin Hudson scored seven points and Baril Mawo came off the bench for a basket and pair of free throws.

Gogebic (8-8) made a run to close to within 52-45, outscoring the Norse, 12-2, with Yohance London scoring six of those points and Elijah Owens nailing a triple.

The Norse put the pedal to the metal again, responding with a 15-3 run capped by a Mawo basket that expanded the Bay lead to 67-48.
 

“I think we did OK,” Hudson said. “Definitely, in the second half, we made a push, and we came out with a win. We just needed to wake up and start bringing energy. Be patient. Find the right shots, and shoot well.”

And the lead kept growing, as guys off the bench contributed to the cause. Michael Foust made a nice spin move for a basket inside the paint, and then he added a triple from in front of his bench. James Hughes added two baskets as well.

Lamar Grayson led the Norse with 17 points and seven rebounds, and Hudson added 14 points. Tyrel Creger chipped in with ten points. Mawo had eight points and Nelson contributed seven points and seven rebounds.

Trevon Clark scored 20 points to lead the Samsons, while Yohance London scored 16 points and seven rebounds, and Elijah Owens scored 14 points.

The win was nice, but is actually the appetizer for the main course, which is the first-ever appearance in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association. The 14 non-conference games are over, and the final 14 games will all be conference tilts.

“I give us a B, B-plus on defense,” Johnson said, when asking to grade his team's first half of the season. “On offense, I'd say probably a 'C'. We can do a lot more with the guys that we have. Overall, probably a 'B' or 'B-minus'. We need to get tougher, push that extra little bit when games get tight down the stretch.”

The Norse will open conference play Saturday afternoon against Grand Rapids Community College on the road.

The Raiders (11-2) won their first eleven games of the season, but have dropped two straight, including Wednesday night's game against Lansing Community College by a 93-81 score.

Saturday's game starts at 3:00 and will be broadcast live on FM-106.3 and on-line at www.radioresultsnetwork.com.